Researchers report a staggering number of fraudulent schemes implemented using data communications that possess a variety of characteristics. In particular, a common tactic of scammers is to use a technique called “phishing,” where an attempt to obtain money and sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details, can be launched by the scammer. Masquerading as a trustworthy entity, such as a bank, an online payment processor, an IT administrator, or a state/federal agency, the scammer sends some form of an electronic communication (such as email or text) to the victim soliciting sensitive information. There is also a growing trend among fraudulent scammers to make phone calls, pretending to be from a financial institution or governing authority in an attempt to extract finances and sensitive data. Particularly, the phone call may be made to a mobile device, landline, or computer having a voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) voice and video calling service, such as Skype. Such fraudulent phone calls are called voice phishing, or “vishing”. Statistically, scammers tend to have a higher success rate using a phone call as the medium of attack, rather than using email or other text-based phishing.
Sometimes a scammer may call a person, leveraging pieces of correct information, which they have sourced from elsewhere, in an effort to entice a person to release more personally or financially descriptive data. For example, there is an uprising of a sophisticated phone scam targeting of taxpayers and recent immigrants, where the scammer pretends to be a representative of the Internal Revenue Service, which requests an immediate tax payment owed to the government. The caller may use a fake name and IRS badge number along with reciting the last four digits of a victim's social security number. Sometimes the scammer associates the IRS toll-free number with its caller identifier data, such that it appears that the IRS is calling the victim. The victim is told that they must pay the sum promptly through a credit card, pre-loaded debit card, or wire transfer. When the victim refuses, the scammer threatens the victim with police arrest, deportation, or revocation/suspension of a business or driver's license. Another person associated with the scammer, calls the victim posing as staff of the local police or Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), issuing further threats. It is within this context that the embodiments arise.